Sporty students set for Canadian tour

FIFTY students from Dinnington Comprehensive are looking forward to an ‘Olympic experience’ in 2012.

The boys and girls, accompanied by members of staff, are set to visit three major Canadian cities to show off their netball, hockey, football and rugby skills.

On their visits to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto in July next year, the students will take part in ‘swap shops’ where they will teach their opponents how to play rounders, in exchange for lessons in baseball.

The mastermind behind the trip is PE teacher Dana Abdulkarim.

She told the Guardian: “ I very much wanted to take Dinnington out to the wider world and use sport as the vehicle.”

“Since starting at the school I have arranged many day trips to watch top class sport in numerous cities and the uptake has always been high, but what alarmed me was that many students are yet to visit the likes of London, Liverpool and Manchester, so I wanted to think bigger and design a tour that was perhaps another first for the students.”

Her own positive memories of sport trips as a pupil have inspired Miss Abdulkarim to give her students something to remember.

“It is my belief that every child should have their own Olympic experience in the school sport days, something borne from my Sheffield high school days – and this trip is just that for our students. It’s a chance to represent the school, community, county and country and broadening their horizons.”

The Dinnington pupils will visit the Montreal Olympic site and Niagara Falls.

As a group they’ve been raising funds to make the trip more affordable, and after events like November’s race night at Dinnington Rugby Club, have stumped up three quarters of their target of £20,000.